Using samples of child-siblings and mother-siblings from the National Longitudinal Survey's Child-Mother file, we find positive effects of participation in Head Start on the test scores of white and Hispanic children. These effects persist for children 8 years and older, and are detectable in the AFQT scores of the white mothers in our sample. We also find that white and Hispanic children are less likely to have repeated a grade if they attended Head Start. African-American and white children who attend Head Start receive measles shots at an earlier age and experience gains in height relative to their siblings who did not attend, and we find weak evidence that white mothers who attended Head Start as children also experienced gains in height relative to their siblings. Hence we find positive and lasting effects of participation in Head Start on a broad range of outcomes.

Bibliography Citation

Currie, Janet and Duncan Thomas. "Does Head Start Make a Difference?" NBER Working Paper w4406, National Bureau of Economic Research, July 1993.